Protein
by Dragon Raptyr
Summary: Food is running low, and Fang has a solution. Hope meanwhile, has a question: What is meat? rated K  for a scene with a dead gorgonopsid
1. Chapter 1

This oneshot came to me as I was reading one of the datalog entries, as well as noticing parts of Fang and Vanille's clothing. The Cocoon born l'Cie are likely to have never tasted meat before, but Fang and Vanille are clearly used to it. Add in the lack of predation in civilized Cocoon, and most of the population is going to be vegetarian, or, more likely, herbivorous. And as Hope is one of the youngest and my favourite, I had to have him as the star.

Enjoy! I do not own Final fantasy, or any related media.

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The sun set over the Archylte Steppe, covering the hills and plains with a warm orange glow, and turning stone to violet monoliths. Hope trotted behind the others, eager just to find a place to sleep where he could avoid being trampled by an adamantoise. As the party collapsed for the night, Snow pulled out the last of the protein supplement rations.

With a groan, the brawler noted that there were only enough for two people. "How are we supposed to find our answers when we're protein deprived?" Snow groused angrily.

Fang burst out laughing. "You know, I'd forgotten how sheltered you all had been up until now. Protein deprived, that is a laugh."

Vanille giggled as well. "Protein supplements aren't the only source of protein you know Snow. If you know where to look, you can find it everywhere!"

Sazh rolled his eyes, the chocobo chick in his hair peeping. "Oh? And where exactly are we supposed to look for protein? Last I checked, it doesn't grow on trees."

Hope's curiosity was piqued. Where did one get protein rations on Gran Pulse? The factories didn't exactly export them. Unless Fang was planning of feeding them five hundred year old supplements, there weren't a lot of options.

Fang noticed the look on Hope's face and gave a sigh. "Have you herbivores really never heard of meat? Honestly, and you call us barbarians."

Vanille looked at her comrades curiously. "You mean you have never had meat before? That's so silly. Everyone needs protein to live, and we can't exactly go out and buy things anymore. But really, it's quite funny to think of you all as herbivores. I would have thought that you would at least have had fish before, living by a seaside and all."

Hope bit his lip pensively. "But where does meat come from? Is there a plant called fish or something? I mean, what other sources of food are there?"

Fang stood up and disappeared into the night. Vanille watched her friend leave, and turned to Hope. "The easiest way to show you where meat comes from is by action, not word. Fang's not going to be gone long, there is plenty to eat, after all."

The scream of a gorgonopsid rang across the plains. Hope shivered slightly as a cool breeze blew past the camp. Staring out into the night, the boy was surprised to see Fang walking back into camp, a dead gorgonopsid slung over her back. Setting it down, she ripped of the fur and skin with a knife, and cut off a piece of its flesh.

Hope began to feel sick as he watched Fang cook the flesh over the fire. He had seen a lot of stuff, and had learned to keep an open mind, but the sight of someone preparing to eat the flesh of another animal was more than slightly revolting to him."

As he emptied his stomach behind a rock, he heard Fang speaking to the group. "Now don't go thinking that I'm some kind of monster. There is balance in everything, in life and death. All things must eat, and not all of them can eat plants. Some of them have to eat meat, including humans. We might be able to eat both plants and animals, but that doesn't mean that we are evil. Besides, we don't eat people, or anything that looks like a person. That is called cannibalism, and there aren't a lot of people who do it. Most of the time, if they do eat people, we let the adamantoises deal with them."

Hope sat back down, trying his best to hold back his shudders as Fang handed him the piece of meat. With trepidation, he bit into the meat, trying not to look at the dead gorgonopsid that Fang was now carving up and spearing over the fire.

A burst of flavour filled his mouth, more filling somehow than any protein supplement. Ravenously, Hope tore off bite after bite, chewing as fast as he could. When the meat was gone, he licked his fingers, trying to get all of the juice off.

As he sat there, Fang chuckled. "Not as bad as you thought?" Well, there's hope for you yet. We'll make a meat eater out of you, wait and see." With a grin, she tore off a piece of the heart that she had been roasting and dropped it into her mouth.

Hope dashed back to the rock and gasped as his meal splattered on the ground. Back by the fire, Fang rolled her eyes. "That boy doesn't know good food when he sees it."


	2. Stew and Maggots

Inspired by a couple of playthroughs of the game, the web novellas, and all the comments I recieved on the first chapter.

I do not own Final Fantasy. And the maggot scene is not canon.

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Bartholomew Estheim had seen a lot in the past few days. His son turned into a l'Cie, his son destroying Cocoon, the friends of his son saving Cocoon, the wilds of Pulse, nearly being eaten, stars, and a whole lot of other stuff that he hadn't thought he would see before.

The Bodhumites who had escaped the purge had been quick to act, planting and tending to gardens, getting a quick harvest out of the ground for food. NORA had served as scouts and scavengers, bringing back enough plants to supplement what the Cavalry and PSICOM were willing to provide.

One thing that was lacking, however, was protein. Without the services of Carbuncle, all the protein supplements were being used up faster than they could be distributed.

The former l'Cie had come up with a solution. Commandeering an airship, they had flown off across the cliffs, promising to return with food. What this food was, they hadn't said. Hope had mentioned something about sheep, but hadn't been too clear on their purpose.

The hum of an airship engine filled the air, and the survivors looked up. The l'Cie were back, gone for nearly three days. As the airship set down, the air was filled with the bleating of sheep.

Hope leapt out of the back of the ship, a wide grin on his face. "Dad! We got the sheep! Can you get someone to build them a pen?"

Bartholomew blinked. "Um, sure." He shook his head. Hope didn't plan for them to eat sheep dung, right?

The tall l'Cie, Snow, walked out of the cargo bay, a sheep under each arm. Chuckling, he walked towards the waterfront, presumably looking for somewhere to put the sheep until further notice.

Hope looked at Snow cheekily. "Let's not make dinner too weird. They're still herbivores, after all."

Snow rolled his eyes, thoroughly confusing Bartholomew. Still herbivores? Technically, the people of Cocoon were herbivores, eating vegetation provided by the Fal'Cie, as well as supplemental protein that the researchers of the Sunleth waterscape liked to imply came from Flandragoras. Maybe untrue, but really, who liked the thought of actually eating animals as if they were, well, animals?

That night, the survivors crowded around the cookpots, eager for their first real meal in days. Bartholomew sat next to the members of NORA, his mouth watering at the savoury smell unlike anything he could remember smelling.

Gadot didn't waste any time digging in, eating the rich stew with gusto. Beside him, Maqui and Yuj, youngest in the troupe, were already heading back for seconds. Hope settled next to his dad, eating at a more sedate pace.

"Enjoying the food, Dad?"

Bartholomew nodded, mouth still full. The elder man swallowed, looking at his son. "Definitely. It's definitely a more intense flavour than food you get on Cocoon, but all the more filling for it." He took another bite, savouring the flavours. "I did mean to ask you one thing though, Hope. Why did you go and get all those sheep? How are you supposed to get protein from sheep?"

Hope snickered, and finished off his stew. "Dad, you do know about basic biochemistry, right? DNA is formed of proteins, which are a fundamental requirement for ingestment."

Bartholomew frowned. "Yes, I know that, son. Plants don't have a lot of protein, though, so we have to make do with supplements."

Hope rolled his eyes. "Plants might not have a lot of protein dad, but sheep are practically made of it."

Bartholomew looked at his empty bowl quizzically. "So we ate the sheep?"

"Yep. They taste a lot better than Gorgonopsid, though, I can tell you that much."

Hope's father blinked, brain grinding to a halt. "No wonder you called us herbivores."

Maqui nudged Hope, confused. "Did you just say that we ate sheep?"

Hope nodded. "Yes, Maqui. You ate sheep. Those fluffy little cute things you find all over Nautilis."

"You mean, like their legs, and stomachs, and eyeballs and stuff?"

Hope laughed. "Not their eyeballs or stomachs. Mostly things like heart, liver, thighs and buttocks."

Everyone within earshot of Hope looked down at their bowls, trying not to be obvious. Maqui turned green around the gills, and ran out of the room, followed by more than a few people.

Hope looked at his dad. "you're taking this pretty well."

Bartholomew gave a snort. "Well? Hope, your mother once decided that eating maggots would prove beneficial to my health. Compared to those, sheep is a walk in the park."


End file.
